Lastminute.com will pay out £7m in refunds for cancelled holidays December 1, 2020 Holiday firm Lastminute.com has committed to paying out £7m in refunds to customers who had their trips cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) this morning revealed that over 9,000 people were currently awaiting payouts from the booking site. Lastminute.com has now agreed to pay these out as soon as [...]
Government agrees £825m loan to finish Crossrail December 1, 2020 The government has agreed a £825m loan to finance the completion Crossrail train link, Grant Shapps today announced. Writing on Twitter, Shapps said that the loan was a “fair dal for taxpayers across the UK”. The loan takes the total cost of the project, which has been plagued by difficulties over its lifespan, to £18.6bn. [...]
London festive travel guide: How to get around safely this Christmas December 1, 2020 UK leaders have agreed to lift coronavirus lockdown restrictions over the festive period, granting families the chance to see their loved ones for Christmas. Under the plans, members of up to three different households will be able to form an exclusive bubble between 23 and 27 December. Transport secretary Grant Shapps has warned Brits to [...]
Proposal to extend Bakerloo line to Beckenham and Hayes gathers steam November 30, 2020 A proposal to extend the Bakerloo Tube line even further south-east than previously planned has garnered considerable support from local residents, Transport for London said today (TfL). Last month the capital’s transport operator launched a consultation into the Bakerloo Line extension, which is currently meant to extend as far as Lewisham. However, TfL is also [...]
Easyjet working with restructuring heavyweights Alix Partners to reduce debt pile November 30, 2020 Low-cost carrier Easyjet is working with restructuring heavyweights Alix Partners in an attempt to refinance its hefty debt pile. The Telegraph first reported that the FTSE 250 carrier had asked the US firm for help as it is faced with paying back £1.4bn in debt to various lenders. The airline must repay a £600m loan [...]
Joe Biden could favour Ireland travel corridor over London-New York link – reports November 27, 2020 The aviation industry is facing a race against time to set up a travel corridor between London and New York amid fears that President-elect Joe Biden will favour an air link with Dublin instead. There had been hopes that a quarantine-free corridor between London and New York would be in place by Thanksgivings, but these [...]
Heathrow workers to strike next week November 27, 2020 Workers at Heathrow Airport are planning to strike on Tuesday over proposed pay cuts, the airport said today. Unite the union is also preparing for further industrial action on 14, 17, and 18 December. Heathrow said that there are currently no pre-planned flight schedule amendments for any of the dates. As the UK will still [...]
Travel giant records 62 per cent sales spike as consumer confidence grows November 27, 2020 London-based travel giant Not Just Travel recorded a 62 per cent surge in bookings this week. The top holiday destinations booked by consumers, in order of preference, were the USA, the Canary Islands, Dubai, Lapland and the Maldives. Not Just Travel co-founders Steve Witt and Paul Harrison attributed this increase in bookings to Black Friday [...]
Japan, South Korea and industry groups oppose EU plan to cut shipping emissions November 27, 2020 Japan, South Korea and a fleet of international shipping groups have warned the European Union against its plan to add greenhouse gas emissions from the maritime sector to Europe’s carbon market. As the 27-country EU seeks to steer its economy towards “net zero” emissions by 2050, the executive European Commission wants to expand its carbon [...]
Gatwick Airport demand takes off after quarantine rule change November 27, 2020 Gatwick Airport is preparing to ramp up flights after the government said quarantine rules will be relaxed in the run-up to Christmas. Chief executive Stewart Wingate said the airport had already seen boosted demand and was expecting to handle around 100 flights per day by mid-December. This is compared to just four a day during [...]